Description This Tibetan monk is from the Sumtseling monastery in Zhongdian, now renamed Shangri-La. They claim Shangri-La was based on this region. The monastery is affiliated with the same order as that of the Dalai Lama. The simplicity of the image focuses on both face and hands with only the sky as background. I especially liked the expression on his face as his hands fingered the prayer beads. The gesture of his hands seemed to echo the quizzical expression of his face.

Susan Weinberg, MinneapolisMember Since April 2010Artist Statement As both a genealogist and an artist, much of my work has focused on family and cultural history. My Eastern Europe series is composed of paintings based on travels in LIthuania and the surrounding Baltic States. I frequently incorporate Yiddish into my paintings as it ties to my cultural roots. My Eastern Europe series deals with the Holocaust, the traces of the Jewish community that remain and the stories that I learned in my travels.

My work also includes a series based on China and earlier works of reflected images. While earlier work is largely figurative, my more recent work is moving into semi-abstract imagery.